Whistleblower protection denied Kim King in Alabama auto plant suit

Kim King, who has worked at Renosol Seating for nearly 10 years in Selma, Ala., turned away by security at Hyundai corporate offices in Montgomery. Hyundai is the exclusive customer of Renosol Seating in Selma. (Photo Credit: Selma Workers Organizing Committee)

A federal order meant to protect whistleblowers doesn't apply to a woman fired and sued for defamation by an Alabama auto supplier, a Montgomery County judge ruled last week.

Lear Corporation-owned Renosol Seating in Selma fired and sued Kim King in March after she tried to deliver a letter to the plant's customer, Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama in Montgomery, saying she feared a chemical used in the car seat-production process was making workers sick.

The U.S. Department of Labor later filed a separate case against Lear in federal court accusing Lear of whistleblower retaliation.

A federal judge in April issued a temporary restraining order against Lear, preventing the company from terminating, suspending, suing, threatening or retaliating against current or former employees taking part in the labor department investigation.

"There was no determination made in the federal court case on whether King engaged in protected activity when she went to Hyundai. Lear's claim of business interference by King is centered on her actions as it concerns Hyundai," the order stated.

Lear Corp. has said allegations of plant employees' exposure to a hazardous chemical are false and the allegations are part of efforts by United Auto Workers to pressure the company into accepting a union at the plant.

Hundreds of UAW union members in May rallied outside Lear Corp. headquarters in Michigan over conditions at the Selma plant.

"I am not here to debate whether the Selma plant is safe. I know what our doctors tell us. I see the medication our coworkers have to take to treat their asthma...we just want to earn a decent living," Irby said.

The case has received national news attention.

NBC News in April interviewed King about working conditions at the plant.

"I work hard all day making foam for Hyundai car seats, but Hyundai refuses to take responsibility for the fact that we are getting sick and struggling on low wages at its supplier plants like Renosol," King told AL.com during a protest months ago. "Hyundai has the power - and the responsibility - to make sure that the jobs it supports pay decent wages and do not put our health at risk. And until the company listens, our movement will only grow stronger."

However, workers at the plant have rebuffed efforts to unionize, signing a petition asking UAW to "leave this business and us, its employees, alone."

About 80 percent of workers at the Lear Corporation-owned Renosol Seating plant signed an April 6 petition asking the UAW to stop investigating a nearly year-long dispute, The Montgomery Advertiser reported.